phone cables

[xringphil]

Hi guys iv got a huge beech tree to take down in caterbury south east kent but it has a phone line under the crown of the tree, has anyone got a number for the people i need to talk to about having the cable dropped for a day ?

 

iv had a good look about for it and iv just been going in circles being transfered to different people and put on hold.....

 

any help that be awesome

[Wolfie]

I had the same problem a couple of years ago, it's a nightmare trying to find the right person to speak to.It was very expensive, cost me around £200 for having a line droped for up to 2 hours. Since then I did a job for an ex BT engineer who showed me how to disconnect the line fro the house end - sweet.

[xringphil]

dont suppose you want to show me do you ?

[Rupe]

This has come up before. Trying to get BT to remove the wire is near impossible!!

 

If you see an engineer working in the area then talk to him and he might be helpful, might give you a mobile number of who to contact, or he might drop the cable for you, maybe as a cash job.

 

If the cable belongs to the person you are working for, then, with their permission and as long as they understand what you are doing, you could just cut the cable and get on with the job. Once finished you need to get the customer to call BT customer services (they will need a mobile to do this of course) and they need to report a "fault". NOT say that a tree company cut the wire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

BT have a policy of repairing faults within 24hrs or they HAVE to refund line rental charges, so as long as its reported as a fault then it will get repaired but you need the client to play the game!

 

When the repair engineer turns up and sees a cut cable and some sawdust lying around, it is his job to repair and not ask questions but if he does ask then the client needs to say it was some bloke in an unmarked transit and leave it at that the enginner will just fix or replace the line.

 

It must not be reported as an accidental damage casued by a tree company or it will take ages to fix and you will get a bill.

 

 

Of course the proper way is to just get the tree down without breaking the line, and if its only one line then that should be easy enough.

[Rupe]

Or just disconnect it, its not hard, four cables, just write down where each one goes.

[High Scale]

Or just disconnect it, its not hard, four cables, just write down where each one goes.

 

Just don't mention you have done this on a internet forum as it's illegal:sneaky2:

[Graham]

Easy enough to disconnect but I never do that! Be mindful if the property is alarmed with a Redcare type system. It will show a fault and the alarm co. will eventually phone the police if they can't contact a nominated key holder.

[Paul Jenks]

BT love to bully tree workers. We've had a few issues in the past. Historically, they used to be pretty good about putting back broken lines but they gradually got more and more intransigent.

We have found that if it looks like it'll be much easier without the line, phone up BT and say you have a tree that has to come down and their line is in the way. Can they send an engineer to drop it as we won't be held responsible for it.

Of course, the other suggestions on here, except actually paying for them to take it down, seem pretty good to.

[sussexlad]

We had a an engineer out onto the estate i work on as we needed the line dropped for the day to fell some ash that were leaning over it. one guy turned up and said he couldnt drop the line as it was to heavy for him to rig back up himself, so in the end i just felled the trees on the phone line, there was enough slack to take up the impact. it was the engineers idea, and i just said if something goes wrong it was your shout and i will take no responsibility for it!

although i dont recommend this method generally:thumbup:

[Rupe]

BT love to bully tree workers. We've had a few issues in the past. Historically, they used to be pretty good about putting back broken lines but they gradually got more and more intransigent.

We have found that if it looks like it'll be much easier without the line, phone up BT and say you have a tree that has to come down and their line is in the way. Can they send an engineer to drop it as we won't be held responsible for it.

Of course, the other suggestions on here, except actually paying for them to take it down, seem pretty good to.

 

Yes, its essential that the tree workers do not phone BT to say the line is broken even if it was a genuine accident. The person who's line it is must make the call, use their customer number and report the fault.

 

I did it last year, hedge trimming. I was really careful, then the customer came out and said something annoying which put me off, next thing I know I have snipped the line!!

 

After I left they reported an unknown fault, and it was fixed the next day, no dramas.